Are Your Psychiatric Medications Gaining Weight?

We all know that eating processed foods loaded with chemicals like MSG and sugar can contribute to weight gain. And fast food, large portions, and sedentary lifestyles are likely to put you on weight.

In addition, stress releases excess cortisol, an integral health hormone in the right amount, but responsible for the increase in excess abdominal fat.

But did you know that one of the biggest contributors to obesity is rarely mentioned, much less discussed?

The elephant in the living room, so to speak, is the use of psychiatric drugs, also known as psychotropic medications or psychiatric medications for short.

At least among psychiatrists, it is a well-known fact: the same medications that are prescribed to treat psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, mania, and mood swings very often have the unfortunate side effect of rapid weight gain.

• The worst culprits of weight gain are atypical antipsychotics; most of these drugs cause “quite significant” weight gain in most people. Some are FDA approved for the treatment of psychosis (such as schizophrenia, among others). Others are approved for symptoms related to bipolar disorder: bipolar depression; psychotic agitation; bipolar maintenance; and “other indications”.

• Next on the list? Antimanics or “mood stabilizers” are used to control mood swings, especially in bipolar disorder.

• Last but not least are antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications, which are estimated to cause weight gain in approximately 25% of the prescribed population.

The fact that these drugs so often cause weight gain is really sad; it simply aggravates the emotional problems for which the drugs were originally prescribed.

Now let me fill in the picture with some cold, hard numbers:

• According to The Obesity Society, from the late 1990s to now, psychiatric drug prescriptions have increased by 73%.

• In 1996, Eli Lilly was exposed as an attempt to hide awareness about the side effects of one of its biggest sellers, Zyprexa, one of which is weight gain.

• In the last twenty years the number of obese adolescents has tripled; In roughly the same time period, psychiatric medication prescriptions for children increased by more than 50%.

So why the hell would your psychiatrist or doctor withhold such important information? Well, a lot (if not most) of what prescribing doctors learn about drugs and treatment protocol comes straight from the horse’s mouth: pharmaceutical companies, publicly traded companies, and they have an ultimate responsibility to shareholders. .

Consequently, most psychiatrists are writing prescriptions, rather than presenting patients with a selection of treatment options, including the many alternative ways to help people feel better emotionally.

I don’t know about you, but doesn’t the following scenario sound like creating a vicious cycle? Start with people who are depressed or emotionally disturbed … diagnose them as mentally ill … put them on psychiatric medications … create weight gain … and then prescribe more psychiatric medications to treat weight gain and problems additional emotional stresses caused by weight gain.

But maybe that’s exactly the point. Believe it or not, there is talk of classifying obesity as a mental disorder by 2013, when the revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) is published, creating another ‘reason’ to prescribe more medications.

So how can you really determine if your psychiatric medications are making you fat?

The short answer is taking responsibility for your own health. Make yourself an active participant in your treatment plan and make sure your doctor is clear about your position.

• When your doctor proposes a treatment plan (which will likely include medications) ask questions, and a lot of them.

• Ask about the risk of weight gain, but don’t stop there; As you do, ask about other side effects.

• Then do your research: Google the name of the drug and see if its side effects include weight gain.

• After all that, if you decide to fill the proposed prescriptions, read everybody from the attached information provided by your pharmacy or HMO.

• Say yes to a pharmacist visit when you first pick up your prescription. He / she can be an important resource for verifying the information you have collected now and for asking any additional questions that you have neglected along the way.

• And lastly, be vigilant and track your medication use: If you begin to gain weight, your notes will help you determine whether or not medications are responsible.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: the state of your health is up to you.